


Training Montage

by LiquidCaliban



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, This is a story, Training, read me!, stuff and things, words words words
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-10-13 15:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10517010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiquidCaliban/pseuds/LiquidCaliban
Summary: Steve wants to try a little new age management where the Avengers have to spend a day training like their teammates. Natasha is already over that noise, but she's got something up her sleeve of death.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I only pretend I own everything.
> 
> Spoilers: Nothing in particular, but timeline is MCU, post-AoU with no CW upcoming. I feel like I say that a lot.
> 
> Pairing: Established Romanogers.
> 
> Summary: Steve comes up with a plan for helping the team members understand and appreciate each other’s powers. A section per Avenger, plus prologue.

Steve stripped off his lounge pants and t-shirt before settling into bed at Avengers HQ, where Natasha was already tucked in and reading a book. The cover indicated it was something about US Naval operations during World War II in the Pacific. He filed away how much he liked that it was an actual book with pages rather than something digital in his encyclopedia of things he loved about her. Love and all it encompassed was at the forefront of his mind as he wrapped his arm around her waist, savoring the feel of his bare skin against hers as he pressed his lips against her shoulder. The past few months had really taught him the joy of sleeping naked, among other things. He hoped he wasn’t risking the near-future performance of any of them as he began, “So I was thinking…”

“No.” She rolled her eyes and immediately turned away from him, using her book as a shield for her face as she continued to read. She ignored him even as he ran his hand over her hip and between her thighs. Not even a twitch in response. He really needed to catch up on Guadalcanal if it was _that_ interesting.

He pulled his hand back but maintained his proximity, taking advantage of the fact that she hadn’t tried to leave the bed to spoon her, holding her tight against him. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“You wouldn’t have started out like that if it was going to be something you thought I’d like.”

Slightly encouraged by his knowledge of what she liked, he nuzzled her neck and soldiered on, “I was reading this management book. Owens gave it to me.”

She shrugged her shoulder under his chin, but didn’t turn toward him or close her book. He’d been sure mentioning Owens, the confrontational personnel deputy director at Avengers’ HQ who seemed to lack a sense of self-preservation, would prompt some kind of response. At least she was no longer reading, just holding the book up like a theatrical prop. He waited a moment to make sure, see if her eyes moved to scan the page, but her gaze remained fixed. Confident she was at least listening to him, he pressed another kiss to her neck before continuing, “Anyway, I was looking for ways to help the team, uh, bond. I was thinking…”

“There’s that phrase again.”

He didn’t let the interruption discourage him. “I read about this suggestion where you talk about what you do so the rest of your coworkers can understand the office from your point of view. I mean, it’s not an office in our case, but I was…” He caught himself just in time from describing what he was thinking. “We could do something like that.”

“You think anyone other than Sam will agree to a group therapy session?”

“It’s not…wait, why do you immediately go to Sam?”

“Because he’s your sidekick and does whatever you tell him.” She casually flipped the page to a map of ship positions south of Savo Island that he tried not to be distracted by. Her fingertip traced over an arrow indicating a battleship’s route as she said, “He’s Robin to your Batman. Or maybe it’s more equal – Butch and Sundance? Copper and Tod? Starsky and Hutch?”

Still trying to make sense of the map and not recognizing some of her references, he was unable to come up with a better reply than a petulant, “He is not.”

“Not your sidekick or not your equal?”

“You know what I mean!”

“Uh huh. So you think if I commed him right now and told him you wanted a cheeseburger or an apple pie…?”

He tried not to think about how nice a piece of pie in bed would be, maybe with some whipped cream on the side he could lick off Natasha’s skin. He was supposed to be defending Sam, not turning his girlfriend into a sexy dessert. His tongue flicked out to taste the junction of her shoulder and neck. Mmm, she didn’t even need toppings, just… Wait, defend Sam. “He’s a good friend!”

“But he wouldn’t bring me a bottle of good Russian vodka at the drop of a hat.”

“Because…” Steve did his best to refocus on his actual objective of the moment rather than his preferred but constant one. “Because you think you have to go to Brighton Beach to get good vodka, but we could get a burger or piece of apple pie here. And that’s not what we were talking about.”

“Not the point. Sam’s a good soldier who follows his commander and he’s also your friend so he’ll come to your kumbaya circle…”

“Rhodey is a military man, too.”

“But we’re not the military and he’d only do it if you ordered him to.” He waited as she tucked a bookmark between the pages rather than dog-earing. Yet another thing to love. He pressed his hips tight against her backside as she set the book on her nightstand but she didn’t respond in kind, instead continuing, “And Vision may be interested on some existential level, but if you think Wanda, Tony or I would voluntarily subject ourselves to what amounts to a psych eval, you’re dreaming.” He frowned as she turned in his arms to face him. “Or maybe you’re just messing with me with a fake problem for some reason.”

Her breasts pressed against his chest were even more distracting than his own fantasies, but he had come to bed with a mission and he was not going to let her ridiculous sex appeal dissuade him from… His eyes nearly crossed when she hooked her leg over his hip. _Baseball. Arctic glaciers. Nick Fury in a bikini! Damnit!_ In his attempt to complete his goal, he shouted into her face, “I was trying to say that maybe we could each spend the day putting the team through a day of training focused on our own specialties or unique abilities so we’d all, uh, appreciate each other!” He tightened his arms around her when she tried to pull back and softened his voice considerably. “It’s probably a dumb idea.”

“It might be okay as long as it’s not something to make everyone talk about their feelings or something. In fact, if it’s really a tactical exercise, I might be able to see its value.” She reached behind her and tugged the chain on her lamp to turn it off. Her eyes caught a stray ray of light from somewhere and glinted at him in the sudden darkness. “But do we have to talk shop in bed?”

He was about to go insane with desire as she traced a fingertip down his chest and stomach and lower…“Any suggestions?”

“I think I’m being pretty clear.”

His eyes rolled back involuntarily as she grasped him. He managed to squeal out,"Suggestions?"

“Don’t invite Stark.”

"Now?"

“Wasn’t planning to,” she replied against his lips before claiming his lips in a deep kiss as she stroked him. “Steve, I need you to…”

Before he succumbed to her, he blurted, “I was thinking he could set up something where we could see inside the War Machine armor when Rhodey is piloting it. Y’know, so we can see what he sees.”

“Fine, but don’t let him know about the rest of your plan. He’ll just ask something stupid like if Cap day includes sex with me.” She emphasized her point with an especially vigorous stroke of her hand that had him almost sobbing with want. With his plan confirmed, he willingly conceded control, secure in the knowledge that no one was allowed to make love to Natasha but him.


	2. Is That a Shield in Your Pocket or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

Steve looked around the room as his fellow Avengers considered him incredulously. They’d been informed of the exercise over a week ago so they’d have time to plan what they wanted the team to do with each of them. He’d personally spent a lot of time working on Captain America Day, the first of what he’d dubbed Team Building Week, to serve as an example. Natasha had been willing to let him bounce ideas off her as she acted bored, even if she hadn’t shared anything about her own plans for the concluding Black Widow Day. If the vague reports he’d gotten from Maria Hill were accurate, Natasha and the rest of the team were taking the endeavor seriously with their requests for paraphernalia or flight time.

As far as Steve was concerned with his plans, he was keeping things simple. Natasha had totally agreed when he’d run through them with her, though she may have just been humoring him so he’d let her go to sleep. He’d found what he thought was a fair middle ground; Captain America was enhanced, but the rest of the team wasn’t. He wanted them to experience what it was like to be him and he’d determined that there were ways to simulate that experience in the real world without the benefit of Dr. Erskine’s serum. The team had gone on his morning run at his usual pace without complaint, even if they hadn’t kept up and run six miles to his ten, so he was surprised to see them balk in the galley of all places.

Sam was the first to speak as they sat around their usual table, staring at the plates they’d been served, “I thought we were gonna eat like you for the day.”

“Well…not exactly.” When Steve looked at their portions, it did seem like a bit much. Or not much. Although he was eating his usual breakfast, the team had been reduced to quarter-rations in an attempt to make them feel the kind of hunger his enhanced metabolism sometimes left him feeling after more than a few hours without at least a SHIELD-developed protein bar. It actually wasn’t all that dissimilar to some of the lean years he’d experienced growing up when he really thought about it. “The idea is to spend a day experiencing what your teammates do.”

Sam stabbed at his meager portion of scrambled eggs half-heartedly. “Yeah, but…you only get that way if you haven’t eaten your regular meals, right?”

Steve poked Natasha’s thigh under the table to distract her from the comeback she looked like she was about to deliver, in spite of the grimace she was giving her own plate, and shrugged at Sam. “You know how it is when you’re in the field. Can’t always eat regular meals. And it’s just like this for today. I’ll eat the same thing if it’ll make you feel better.”

“No, I just didn’t really get what you were going for before you explained it.” Sam grinned and scooped a small spoonful of hash browns into his mouth. “Psyched myself up for a half-dozen eggs, grits, pancakes, six pieces of toast and all the meats, so the kid’s meal was a little shocking. But I get it, man.”

Steve relaxed as he noticed the line of Natasha’s shoulders sinking. Sam wasn’t one to question Steve without a good reason, so it said a lot that he had been the one to step up and question the efficacy of the experiment.

Wanda further lightened the mood, saying, “I think it would be worse to eat Steve’s diet for the day.” She nibbled on the corner of her single piece of toast. “I would rather be a little hungry than full to bursting. I imagine we will be doing some hand to hand next, yes?”

“We’ll be working with replicas of my shield, so that’s pretty…”

His enthusiastic explanation was interrupted by a voice from the galley doorway, “Is that what they’re serving for breakfast these days? Good thing I ate before I came!”

Steve turned toward the door, fighting to keep his expression neutral. “Tony, what are you doing here?”

“What, you think I’d miss the first day of Pretend You’re Another Avenger Week?” Tony grinned and pulled a chair up so he could push into a nonexistent space between Natasha and Rhodey. Rhodey pushed over with a sigh into Vision’s space, an intrusion made less annoying by the latter’s inability to eat. Tony didn’t seem interested in any of the less obvious team dynamics. “I’m offended that I wasn’t invited from the get go!”

“How did you even find out about this?” Rhodey asked as he tried to eat from his suddenly displaced plate.

“Well, I wasn’t quite sold on your explanation that you were just looking for a suit simulator to work on your skills, which you should absolutely interpret as an implicit compliment that your skills aren’t super-lacking. Anyway, I talked to Vision and he spilled the beans on the whole thing.”

“I was unaware that this operation was to be classified from Mr. Stark,” Vision stated politely.

“It’s not your fault, Vision,” Natasha replied. “I’m sure Stark would have wormed it out of someone.”

“You make _me_ sound like the spy here. I thought it was just gonna be powers and tech, so I came up to watch the potential fireworks, but since it’s ‘spend the whole day doing everything Steve does’…it’s _everything_ , right?” Tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Right, Natalie?”

Natasha turned to Steve with an ‘I told you so’ look as she huffed, “So predictable.”  

“Yet you still agreed to Cap Day,” Tony replied. “So…”

“You’ll need this.” She pulled a small tube from the pocket of her hoodie. Steve nearly choked on his coffee when he got a good look at it. She’d mentioned that she had a plan to deal with Tony’s inevitable intrusion, even if there hadn’t been any indication that he even knew about Team Building Week until he walked through the door.

Steve could at least take solace in the fact that Tony was equally stunned, taking a moment before he gingerly picked up the lube. “Seriously?”

“Don’t give me that look.” Natasha rolled her eyes. “If this is how it’s going, you’re really going to need it for Black Widow Day.”

“Uhh…”

“Yeah, Steve’s pretty big. Ever seen one of those YouTube clips of elephants mating? Whew!” Steve abruptly realized that she hadn’t told him about her plan to discourage Tony because he would never in a million years have agreed to this. She continued laying it on thick. “You probably won’t be able to walk for a day or two, at least. May want to find a way to stretch yourself out between now and then. Do they make medical-grade dildos?”

There were giggles, both genuine and uncomfortable, from around the table. Tony seemed to consider his options for a moment and Steve fought to keep his expression serious, in spite of the fact that he was sure his face was beet red by this point. He suspected it was ultimately Natasha’s continued nonchalance as she ate her breakfast that won the day.

Tony shook his head. “So we’re sticking to shield chucking and super punching, right?”

Steve let out the breath he’d been holding. “We’re heading to the gym right after breakfast.” He ignored the squeeze Natasha gave his knee under the table. He needed at least an hour to forgive her for threatening to pimp him out to Tony.

Luckily, he had plenty of distractions to occupy his attention. One of the replica shields ended up becoming dust not ten minutes later. Wanda peeked out from behind her hands as the flickering red wisps of magic disappeared. “Sorry! I know we are not supposed to use powers, but it was a reflex.”

Steve nodded sympathetically and gave a Natasha a critical look. “Was that really necessary?”

“I wasn’t trying to decapitate Wanda.” She shrugged and picked up another shield, which she tossed into the air and caught. “They don’t have the same weight or balance as your shield and I misjudged the throw. I thought she did pretty well with her reaction.”

Wanda brightened, but Steve maintained his displeasure. “You expect me to believe…”

“Relax, Steve.” She patted his cheek. “It’s not your real shield. If it were, Wanda’s magic just would have deflected it instead of disintegrating it. I’ll let you break one of my bites if it’ll make you feel better.”

“Nat…” He lowered his voice to growl, “You said you would take this seriously.”

“Yeah, and I’m seriously annoyed you didn’t get better shields for us to practice with. This won’t help us in a combat situation if we’re only using the real thing.”

“Huh. Didn’t consider that being Steve would potentially include lovers’ spats,” Tony interrupted as he came to a stop beside them after catching a shield Rhodey tossed. “Not all nudity and adult situations.”

“Shouldn’t you know that?” Natasha replied. “You and Pepper snipe at each other constantly.”

“Yeah, but I thought we were special.” He grinned and flung the shield back toward Rhodey. “I should’ve known. He may be Ozzie, but you’re no Harriet.”

“Wait…” Steve was a little stunned to recognize the reference. “You know that old radio show?”

Tony shook his head. “He’s even too old for TV Land.”

He bounded away to retrieve another of Rhodey’s throws as Steve turned to ask Natasha for clarification, but she had slipped away to toss one of the shields around with Sam.

As it turned out, she stayed on task for the rest of the day, avoiding him during their very light lunch and an afternoon dedicated to tactical planning, capped off with a simulated war game on the grounds. He didn’t get a chance to really talk to her until she was walking out of the shower in their quarters that night.

He began with a dragged out, “So…”

She sighed and dropped into bed beside him without slipping out of her robe, wringing her hair with her towel. “I think it went well, even if I feel like started the day with a pretty good idea about what you do. Well-planned, Rogers.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Are you going to take a shower?”

“Yeah.”

“Now?” she prompted when he made no move to get up.

“Nat…”

“Tony was just being his normal, aggravating self. He’s way too easy to bluff.”

Steve was thankful she hadn’t made him ask the question because he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the ploy she’d used. “But what if he’d called it?”

“I would have resorted to my go-to option.”

“Devastating violence?”

“Aw, you know me so well.” She leaned over to peck his lips. “Now get in the shower. I have no idea what Vision has planned for us tomorrow and I’m tired.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“I certainly don’t have a sandwich hidden somewhere in the room because I’m hungry and can’t wait another ninety minutes until Steve Day is over.”

“So you’re telling me the limited caloric intake was a bridge too far?”

“I’m telling you to get in the shower and ignore the scent of pastrami.”

“Oh, pastrami? Seriously?” At least he knew why his mouth had been watering since he’d walked into the room ten minutes ago. She stood and sauntered over to the closet. It was like a wave of mouthwatering deliciousness when she opened the door. “Wait, you put a sandwich in the closet?”

“I put _two_ sandwiches in the closet. I thought you were coming right behind me and that I could eat most of mine while you were in the shower then bribe your forgiveness with the second one.”

They were sitting at the table in their small living area, clearing their plates a few minutes later. Although he’d eaten his regular meals, he never minded something extra. As he swiped at his mouth with a napkin, he said, “I still don’t know why you hid these in the closet.”

She looked at him incredulously. “Because who would think to look for a sandwich in the closet?”

He realized that he was far more worried about Black Widow Day than he’d previously acknowledged to himself.


	3. Vision Quest

Steve stretched his arms over his head and turned toward the clock on his nightstand. 7:38. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in bed this late without some kind of mission involvement. After receiving a message from Vision precisely at midnight that they were to enjoy a relaxing morning and full breakfast before meeting in the communal lounge at nine, Natasha had convinced him that they could sleep in today. She’d even happily tired him out. Twice. He grinned and turned toward her, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear before running his fingertips down her neck.

She didn’t open her eyes, but her lips quirked into a small smile. “Mmm…haven’t I made it up to you yet?”

“Huh?”

“Yesterday. The thing with Tony and the lube? I know you’re mad I didn’t tell you what I was planning.”

“Yes,” he replied, although he’d been pretty clear about what she’d meant. He clasped her body against him. “I was somewhat…perturbed by the suggestion that…yeah.”

“Perturbed?” She turned in his arms so he could see the curvature of her raised eyebrow. “You looked like you were on the verge of a stroke.”

“I admit that the thought of you willingly sleeping with Tony…”

“I would never, especially not with Tony. That would be like…there’s this sex ed thing that when you have sex with someone, you’re also having sex with everyone they’ve ever had sex with? God, I’m glad Tony and I don’t have to compare lists.” She snuggled into him as he tried to pull away at the allusion to multiple sexual partners. “I’m not comparing you to anyone, by the way, but if I was you’d be the best by light years…billions of miles,” she corrected unnecessarily. He knew what a light year was, but he didn’t interrupt as she continued, “What I mean is that I don’t want to be with anyone but you and I wouldn’t even consider cheating. And I don’t want to share you, either. I love you and…”

He pressed his lips against hers, cutting her off. She didn’t seem very put out, returning his kiss with matching passion. Kissing was amazing. Kissing was the best. Kissing was… _in no way enough_. He gasped as she grasped him. “Mgnh, Nat…”

“I’m thinking a series sweep?”

He didn’t think about anything else until afterwards, when he was smiling blissfully and she was already out of bed and dressing after a quick shower, that sometimes you needed four games to win a series. Eh. There was always tonight. He hoped Vision hadn’t planned anything too strenuous, as Steve had noticed the current lack of missions in the field had made Natasha feistier than usual. He rolled onto his stomach, leaning onto one of their pillows as he watched her arrange herself in one of her clingy tank tops with the built-in bra. “Hey, Nat?”

“Hm?” She didn’t turn away as she picked up her brush and ran it through her hair, still in only her little sleep shorts (not that she ever wore them in bed for long) and tank.

He knew she was playing with her hair in such skimpy clothing for the sake of teasing him, but smiled in spite of his renewed arousal. “Love you, too.”

“Yeah, I know.” She continued brushing her hair. “You kept screaming it earlier.”

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

She smirked, but didn’t argue. “I’ve reached my consensual sex limit for the day, so unless you’re planning to throw me down and ravish me…”

The casual joke was enough to wither his erection. He knew she hadn’t meant anything by it, not really, but he still hated that she had once been in a position where she didn’t have the option of making such intimate choices. He wished his love could somehow make up for the years she had spent as _just_ the Black Widow with no one to appreciate her as the most amazing woman in the world. He sighed and slipped out of bed as she pulled a long-sleeve shirt and loose pants on. “Nat…”

“Get dressed, Cap. We need to eat before whatever Vision has planned for us today.”

“Are we supposed to be wearing anything in particular?”

The way she shrugged told him she knew more than she was saying, but he didn’t press. He pulled on his boxers, broken-in jeans and worn Army t-shirt before lacing up his sneakers in their small living room. “Hope he doesn’t have us doing anything too physical if you’re wearing those.” He cocked his head disapprovingly at her flip flops.

“Like Vision is gonna yell at me.”

For some reason, she was carrying a towel when they left their quarters.

Vision didn’t appear at breakfast, although Tony did, having spent the night in his rarely used quarters at HQ. He was chattier than the team was used to, monopolizing the conversation at breakfast. “So, Cap, did you at least enjoy Steve Day in a way the rest of us couldn’t without risking rectal prolapse?”

Steve looked at the varied and generous breakfasts the team was enjoying before swallowing another mouthful of eggs. “Is it that important to the day’s activities?”

“Just curious. And nosy. And willing to see pictures of Black Widow boobies if you have ‘em.”

“Dude, are you twelve? Boobies?” Sam asked incredulously.

Tony was unabashed. “What? I don’t know what 40s tits are called, so I took a shot!”

The banter continued in a good-natured way as they finished breakfast and made their way to the lounge, though Steve was still bothered by his earlier thoughts about Natasha’s past lack of agency. He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. The moment was interrupted as they entered the communal lounge and Vision inspecting saw six identical white…coffins. Steve swallowed hard. “Vision, what are those?”

“Whale eggs!” Sam exclaimed. When no one laughed, he asked, “No Ralph Wiggum love?”

“Indeed,” Vision agreed. “I, too, appreciate the cultural impact of _The Simpsons_. I have learned much about the human condition from Homer. But, to our activity for the day. As you may be aware, I do not sleep. Although quarters have been provided for me, I prefer to maintain a quiet meditative state during the night.” He leaned down to set his hand on one of the coffins. “I hope these sensory deprivation tanks will allow you to experience the type of solitude that I do nightly.”

Steve felt his lungs constrict in what felt frighteningly like an asthma attack as Vision opened the lid of the coffin, er, sensory deprivation tank to expose a dark, water-filled space. He tuned out whatever was said about the temperature and conditions, falling down into a dark, cold, wet place that may have been death and…

“Hey.” Natasha’s hand was warm as she grasped his forearm. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do.” He swallowed hard. He could do this. This whole plan of experiencing what teammates did had been his idea. He was their leader. He was Captain America. He could _do_ this. “I can. It’s okay, Nat.”

She looked at him critically, but nodded. “Just so you know, I did bring two towels.”

He nodded with a smile he hoped was encouraging and followed Vision’s instructions, stripping down to his boxers while trying not to feel self-conscious. Natasha winked at him before dropping into her own coffin, _no_ , tank with a small splash. Steve lowered himself gingerly into the warm water and tried to relax as Vision closed the lid.

It wasn’t freezing cold, at least. He had always downplayed the experience of his unplanned cryogenic sleep, as SHIELD scientists had termed it, but the truth was he remembered a disturbing level of detail as his body had succumbed to the Arctic ice. He could feel the cold creeping through his fingers and toes, replacing feeling with pain and then…nothing. He knew it had taken time for his brain to stop being aware of his surroundings. He remembered the dark, the cold, the endless, timeless…

He opened eyes he didn’t realize he’d closed and gasped in the constricted space of the…chamber. He really needed to stop thinking Vision had asked him to voluntarily entomb himself. He _needed_ to think about something good, something to look forward to. His thoughts immediately seized on Natasha. She was always so warm when he held her. Alive. His eyelids drooped as he imagined her on top of him, her breasts pressing into his chest as she gently nipped his neck with her lips and teeth. She was his cure for cold, for his memories. He could feel her body sinking into his, filling him with warmth and pleasure and…

“Captain?”

“Huh?” His eyes shot open and Vision’s face eventually resolved from a purplish blur. “Wha…?”

“It is over, Captain.”

“Lunch?”

“You have been in the sensory deprivation tank for nearly ninety minutes. I am surprised you tolerated it so well. Mr. Stark demanded to be let out after barely five minutes.”

Steve sat up from the warm water, into which he wasn’t confident he hadn’t urinated. “And everyone else?”

Vision gestured to the rest of the team, currently dressing and drying themselves off. Only Tony and Natasha were absent. Steve glanced to his left and saw that her coffin – _tank_ , dammit! – was still closed. Vision nodded sagely. “Agent Romanoff requested to be left alone until she asked to end the experience, although the studies I have consulted recommended against more than two hours at a time.”

“And you’re just going to let her stay in there?”

“The chamber is monitoring her vital signs and they have been surprisingly stable.” He waved his hand over the lid of the tank and nodded. “She is safe and calm. I suspect she has some familiarity with this particular experience.”

Steve tried to remain composed as he stood and accepted the towel Vision offered him – one of the towels Natasha had brought this morning because she’d known what was coming – and stepped out of the tank. He wrapped it around his soaked boxers as Sam approached him. “That was weird as hell, man. You can ‘language’ me all you want, but I’m not changing that opinion.”

“I agree,” Steve said with a shrug. “Vision, is that what you really go through every night?”

“I am unsure,” Vision replied. “I do attempt to close myself off to external stimuli and contemplate the universe, but I cannot confidently equate what I experience with a human equivalent. I thought perhaps…”

“I think you got it, dude,” Sam interrupted.

Steve was inclined to agree, though he was worried that Natasha was still in her tank. “So…what happens next?”

“I planned that we would break for lunch and reconvene here at one o’clock to discuss anything you were comfortable sharing.” Vision turned to Wanda and Rhodey, who were still drying themselves. “Is this acceptable?”

“Of course,” Wanda said immediately.

Steve wondered what she had seen that she would be so ready to tell the rest of them. And what Natasha was still seeing. Once he had changed into dry clothing, he didn’t join the team for lunch in the galley, but returned to watch the unchanging tank where she was thinking God knew what. She could be reliving every kill she’d carried out under orders, every sabotage, every seduction…

He wondered if he was part of her visions. Vision provoking visions. Heh.  

“What’s so funny?”

Steve looked up at Sam, who had brought him a sandwich. “I was just thinking…”

“Yeah, the whale eggs help you do that. I kept seeing the mission…Riley…shit, man.” Sam shook his head and looked to Natasha’s tank. “We should get her outta there.”

To his own surprise, Steve seized Sam’s wrist. “Not until she wants to.”

“Steve, Nat’s got demons. Not ghosts, like us, but full-fledged soul-sucking demons. We can’t just leave her.”

“She’s okay.” Steve didn’t believe his assertion, even as he waved his hand over the tank to display her vitals the way he’d seen Vision do. He repeated, “She’s okay.”

“Dude…”

“We all deal with stuff our own way. Nat’s seen more…more shit than the rest of us combined. She’s got this.”

Sam frowned, but didn’t press further. Steve was sure she was fine. She had to be fine. She was Natasha.

They were halfway through their group therapy session – the very thing Natasha had warned him against when he’d suggested team week – when an urgent beeping from her tank interrupted them. He was the first one there to open the lid. The warm water seeped through his shirt as she hugged him. “You…you…”

He grinned into her neck as he held her. “Me. And you.”

She held him tighter and he didn’t need any talking to explain what that meant.  


	4. Up and Away!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but exams and the obligatory cold are over so...fic?

Steve was still awake, holding Natasha tightly when the first rays of the sun started to shine through their bedroom window. They hadn’t made love the previous night, but they had been in physical contact for hours. They had been active even for them over the past few days, so a break had probably been coming regardless of the circumstances, but he hated these particular circumstances. He wanted his girl to be happy and healthy, as befitted someone who saved the world without regard for their personal safety on a regular basis. Her body was so warm and soft without feeling weak in his arms. He had no idea how she produced such power and violence from her small and seemingly fragile body. He had known her long enough not to question her competence, which had saved the team and him personally on so many occasions. Only sometimes did he have trouble reconciling the woman who had his back in the field with the one who occasionally woke him by blowing playful raspberries on his back in bed.

He gently ran his hand through her hair, letting thick locks snake softly between his fingers. He couldn’t complain about skipping the rest of the afternoon and evening of Vision’s day in favor of a long shower together and cuddling. Sam had brought dinner for them (cheeseburgers with fries and apple pie, which at least made her smile a little) and Steve had ended up eating most of hers. He wanted to help but was at a loss as to how he could. He still didn’t know exactly what she’d worked through in her sensory deprivation tank, just that she’d been almost clingy with him since she’d emerged. If what she wanted was reassurance that he loved her, he was willing to give her that and let her take comfort in him while she decided what she was going to tell him.

He could be patient. She was worth the effort. He loved her more than he thought possible.

To that end, he attempted to twist his hips away from her to prevent his erection from pressing into her backside, not wanting her to interpret his morning arousal the wrong way, but she stirred in her sleep. “Steve?”

“Morning.” He nuzzled into her hair, inhaling her unique scent, which she had attempted to attribute to a combination of shampoo and perfume; he’d decided she just smelled good to him when he’d picked up her scent after days without access to basic hygiene in a Southeast Asian jungle. He gave her another nuzzle and murmured, “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” She paused for a beat. “Was that a hint?”

He pushed her hand away as her fingers traced down his stomach. “I just want to make sure you know it. It doesn’t have to be like that.”

“You don’t want to?”

“Nat, I would love you just as much as I do right now even if we never made love again.”

“Um…I don’t even know how to respond to that. Did you take a vow of celibacy that you didn’t tell me about?” She turned toward him, concern shining in her eyes. “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know.” He took a deep breath. “I’m just a little worried about you after yesterday.”

To his surprise and relief, she laughed, a bright sound that lit up the room better than the morning sun. “You’re worried about the tank thing?”

“I just want you to know that I’m here for you, however you need me,” he carefully clarified. He wanted to make it absolutely clear that he wasn’t going to push her into anything she wasn’t ready for. “If you think talking about it will help, great. Otherwise…I’m still here.”

“I know you are.” She pulled him into a soft, loving kiss that didn’t need to become anything beyond itself. He had the odd sensation of sharing the same single breath back and forth. Her smile was tender when she eventually pulled back. “You gave me what I needed even when you didn’t know it.”

“I did?”

“I spent a long time yesterday thinking about all the things I’ve done. I have a lot to make up for, and that’s only the stuff that _can_ be made up. Having you…” she paused as she pecked his lips again, “You always make me feel like I can get past everything and have a real future. Sometimes I just have to remember that.”

He tightened his embrace, wanting to communicate all his love to her with the gesture. “I will _always_ …”

“Shh. I’m already convinced.” She brought her hands up to his face and her thumbs stroked gently over his cheeks. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“Are you okay after yesterday? I know you were nervous going in, but I got a little caught up in my own bullshit. Sorry I didn’t ask before.”

“No, it’s fine.” He smiled at her concern for him in the face of her own traumas. “Besides, it’s not like I don’t like lying in bed wrapped around you.”

“I know. But if you do want to talk…I am right here, conveniently snuggling with you.”

“Well…” He didn’t want to burden her further, but she was looking at him with such feeling he couldn’t help but confess, “The first few minutes in the thing – I know it was a sensory deprivation tank, but I kept calling it a coffin in my head – anyway, the first few minutes were a little rough…it reminded me of the crash, but at least it was warm instead of freezing. And after that I just thought about good things and for a while I imagined I was holding you. I think I would have had to explain something embarrassing if Vision had left me in there a little longer.”

“Don’t know that anyone would notice you had a wet dream under the circumstances.” She played her fingertips over his sensitive flesh before grasping him firmly. “So nothing that talking would help you with?”

He shivered as she stroked him, pairing the action with a deep kiss. He tried to focus on her mouth without much success. The kissing was just about to progress to more active pursuits when the intercom crackled to life and Tony’s voice filled the room, “Rise and shine because it’s Iron Man Day, kiddies!”

“And War Machine,” Rhodey added with, Steve could only assume, a pained look.

“My tech, my name,” Tony replied snottily. “Anyway, everybody up and eat your McMuffins and meet in the hangar afterwards for a day of fun. Alternative fun will not be approved,” he cleared his throat significantly before adding, “I do mean you, Spangles and Natalie. And we’re getting day-drunk in the afternoon if you’re all good!”

Steve groaned and flopped back onto his side of the bed, now worried for a different reason. “Please don’t get into another drinking contest with Tony.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault he hasn’t learned his lesson yet.” Natasha stretched her arms over her head. “You’d think a self-professed genius wouldn’t need so many tries.”

“I think the genius just likes getting drunk and you don’t mind joining him.”

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.” She turned to wrap her arm around him. “C’mon, you like me a little tipsy.”

“I like it when you’re able to loosen up, not that you have to have alcohol to do it,” he corrected.

She rolled her eyes. “Captain Puritan strikes again.”

“Hardly. I lived through Prohibition, also known as the drunkenest time in American history. I just worry sometimes. I know you know your limits but…”

“I’d complain you were being a dad if I knew what having a father was actually like. Beyond movies, I mean. I know you’d never put me in a corner, for example.”

He brushed aside his lack of appreciation for Natasha and Wanda’s mutual love of _Dirty Dancing_ as she stood and walked toward the bathroom. He hadn’t known his own father, although the reasons were much different from hers. She must have done a lot more thinking in the tank than he’d originally suspected if she was dropping such casual comments about her past. He wanted to pull her into a comforting hug but she had already closed the bathroom door. He sighed and convinced himself to get out of bed. He was dressed in cargo pants and a t-shirt when she reappeared. “Nat…”

“Steve, just relax. We’re good, okay? I just needed a little time and…I think anyone would feel better if they got to spend the night being held by you.”

He felt a warm flush of pride that convinced the team he and Natasha had had a different sort of night when they got to breakfast. Luckily, they didn’t see Tony until they arrived in the hangar a little later.

He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet outside a newly concealed area where a quinjet was usually sitting. “Finally! So, you guys ready for Iron War Machine Man Day? I hate the name, too, but _somebody_ insisted…”

“Tony…” Rhodey started as he stepped out from behind one of the blackout curtains.

“ _Somebody_ insisted that we include the _important,_ ” Tony rolled his eyes to accompany the air quote bunnies hopping through the statement, “Avengers in the exercise.”

Rhodey pushed back the curtain to reveal a setup that looked like fancy dental chairs with unfamiliar and threatening equipment hanging over them. Steve hadn’t needed anything beyond routine cleanings since he’d awoken, but he vividly remembered a tooth he’d had drilled in 1931 with no novocaine. He couldn’t suppress a shudder at the memory. Thank God he hadn’t fixated on _that_ experience yesterday. Rhodey picked up something that looked like goggles a welder might wear. “So we’re basically going through a virtual reality simulation of what it’s like to be in combat in the War Machine…”

“…or Iron Man…”

He ignored the interruption as if it hadn’t occurred, “…armor. The chairs are equipped with motion sensors that should simulate the experience and you’ll have the same heads up displays and systems maintenance that I have.”

“We have,” Tony added petulantly. “Except for FRIDAY. No one gets a gal FRIDAY but me.”

“You’ll do fine without her like I do,” Rhodey concluded. “Who’s ready?”

“This has all the weapons, right?” Sam asked as he eagerly stepped forward. It wasn’t a surprise, considering he had once told Steve he would never trade in his wingpack, but he’d still like to try out one of Tony’s suits. His eyes lit up as he saw the ‘repulsors’ on the heavily-wired gloves Rhodey helped him into as he sat. “Do we shoot at each other or are there targets?”

“This is just a simulation designed to…”

Tony cut off Rhodey again, “It’s basically Iron Man, the Virtual Reality Game.” He strapped the complex goggles, which had an alarming number of wires, around Sam’s head. “You’ll be able to see each other in your armors and the targeting is what I see. I rigged up a points system and the winner gets a special prize. Hits are scored based on size, speed and distance of the target. Off to the races, Birdman.” He pressed a button and green lights lit up all around Sam, who whooped with excitement as his hands jerked and the ‘repulsors’ flashed in his palms.

Steve watched the rest of the team got situated and made various exclamations of surprise when they came online; even Natasha muttered something slightly complimentary, though it was directed to Rhodey rather than Tony. Steve had to admit that Tony had put together an impressive experience once he was strapped into his own unit. The heads-up display gave him a view slightly more than 180 degrees and he found he was standing on the roof of the main building at Avengers HQ. Sam was flying high overhead, already shooting bogeys, surrounded by red targeting beacons on the display. Sam himself was indicated by a green outline and tagged with the label ‘Birdman.’ Steve glanced around at the rest of the team, who hadn’t yet gotten far from the starting point. He almost laughed when he recognized their armors were custom designed in the program.

Wanda, tagged as ‘Little Witch,’ was in dark red with red repulsors that she was tentatively firing. Vision, no nickname and looking normal floating a foot or so off the ground, had a reddish helmet and green body. Steve tried to look down, but couldn’t get a good view of his own armor. The ignorance didn’t last as Natasha gently punched his shoulder. “Wouldn’t trade in your usual for this one. You look like Rhodey’s old suit. You know, the one that guy stole and used to kidnap the president.”

He was about to come out with a witty comeback, but made the mistake of turning to look at her. He was going to have to thank Tony before beating the shit out of him for putting Natasha in catsuit armor. There was no other way to describe the all black suit, complete with a glowing red hourglass in the middle of her chest. Steve swallowed hard. “You look…”

“I honestly don’t want to know, considering it’s Tony.” She held up an armored black hand that had what looked like Widow’s Bites built into the gauntlet. “At least he gave me a full suit and not just a metal bikini or something. I bet he totally has a Princess Leia fetish.”

“You…your nickname is ‘Ma’am,’” Steve managed to say after deciding that a real-world metal catsuit wouldn’t be practical and wouldn’t look as good as this virtual one, which could have been her real one if not for the small glimpses of greyer metal appeared at the seams when she moved. It would probably be hard to get her out of this one as quickly as the need to spend leftover battle adrenalin occasionally necessitated. “You look good in the armor.”

“Thanks, but this is just a simulation. I’m not actually wearing anything.”

“So I have tacit permission to strip you?” Tony piped up over the comms in their helmets. “Because I can see your boring jeans and shirt out here in the real world and… Hey!”

“I smacked him for you, Cap,” Rhodey said.

“Thank you.”

War Machine blinked into Steve’s field of vision a moment later, indicating that Rhodey had joined the simulation. “Okay, guys. If you could all gather ‘round, I’m going to go over the basics of operating the armor and…”

“Sir, no, _sir_!” Sam interrupted, sending them scattering across the roof as he buzzed past. “We should get one of these for the lounge!”

“As I was saying,” Rhodey continued in a long-suffering tone, “the flight controls are…”

Steve felt himself gaining a ton of admiration for Tony as the lesson went on. He preferred his own straightforward physical approach and he hadn’t really appreciated the actual skill that went into operating the suit. Tony and Rhodey made it seem so easy, gliding around and shooting whatever they needed to. The points tally began just after the lesson, but Steve was having trouble just coordinating his repulsor shots at actual targets while staying in the air. He was vaguely aware that he was just sitting in a chair, but the simulation was surprisingly realistic. He was well aware that everyone else had picked it up much faster than he had. He tried to follow the action as Natasha tailed Sam through the air, both of them recognizable only by their digital tags.

“Not gonna catch me, Red!”

“Don’t tempt me, Birdman.”

“Oh, Ma’am, you won’t even…ooh!” Sam exploded in a (fake) burst of green flames as a blast from Natasha’s (also fake) repulsors hit him. “Cheap shot!”

Natasha replied with a string of obscenities Steve wasn’t willing to translate from Russian, though she did streak past in a victorious contrail of red. Steve used his own repulsors to lift off in her wake, catching up to her in midair. “Have I told you that you look amazing in the suit?”

“Not in so many words but…” She dodged through a field of flak, or whatever they were calling it these days, and returned fire with smooth movements. “Are you trying to tell me you want me in this all the time, my Star Spangled Man With a…”

Steve missed the rest of his old moniker as his simulation gear shut down. Tony was already at his side. “Should’ve been paying closer attention, Cap. You were down to two bars on the…whoa! Little Witch is out, now!”

He was left to his own devices as Tony rushed over to help Wanda out of her virtual reality gear. As Steve pulled off the gloves he had to admit that he hadn’t been ready for the reality of combat through War Machine’s eyes. Or Iron Man’s. There was no need to distinguish between the two as the remaining Avengers were whittled down, Vision first, then Natasha, to her dismay. The group was eventually reduced to watching War Machine and Falcon shoot it out on a large monitor that Tony had rigged to display the entire scenario. “Oh, shot to the left, right…it’s…Birdman is out! War Machine takes the title!”

It wasn’t surprising to anyone that Sam and Rhodey had lasted the longest in the simulated armor. Steve made sure to pull both of them aside to tell them they were impressive. Rhodey offered him a wink while Sam was more direct, saying, “Tell Nat she was super-hot in that armor!”

 Steve didn’t have to confirm the thought, being dragged back to their quarters before Natasha had taken advantage of more than an hour of Tony’s day drinking.


	5. Blessed Are the Merciful

Steve held Natasha’s hand and tried to stop grinning his most satisfied grin on the way to breakfast, but Sam’s greeting in line told him he had failed. “Dude, be cool. For once in your life, just…be cool.”

“Sorry,” Steve muttered, blushing but not sorry in the least as he brought Natasha’s hand to his lips before letting it go so they could get their trays.

She was more casual about their apparently-obvious amazing night as she scooped potatoes onto her plate. “Don’t worry, Sam. Someday you’ll get laid and then you can be jealous over how many times a night Steve can get it up instead of the fact that he’s not suffering from chafed palms.”

“Ouch. Remind me to stop talkin’ to you before you’ve had your coffee. You gotta muzzle your girl, man.” Sam paused with a spoonful of scrambled eggs from the warming tray halfway to his plate. “Unless she’s into that sorta thing. No, nope! Don’t say it, Nat!”

“What did I do?” She speared a sausage with a knife that definitely wasn’t kitchen issue. Her face assumed an even more innocent look. “What?”

Sam watched with wide eyes as she took a bite of the sausage before turning back to Steve. “You’re lucky she loves you.”

“Damn right,” she agreed, pressing a kiss to Steve’s jaw before she bumped Sam with her hip to remind him to keep moving down the line. “You could get in on this relationship thing if you’d just ask Maria out.”

They continued bantering and Steve smiled and piled eggs, sausage, bacon and French toast onto the two plates on his tray, grabbing a couple of bagels and a few generous dollops of cream cheese before heading to their table. He had worked up quite the appetite overnight and had no idea what Wanda was planning for her day. Given his previous unwanted experience with her powers, he was feeling unsure. They had been working as a team to integrate her telekinesis so it could benefit missions, but the mind stuff… He took an aggressive bite of a bagel and chewed hard. He didn’t want to think about the Ultron debacle. He especially didn’t want to think about Natasha in relation to the Ultron debacle.

He tuned out of the cheerful conversation at the table as he thought back to the vision Wanda had shown him well over a year ago. It hadn’t been terrible. It wasn’t any more of a ‘what if’ than what his dreams had frequently consisted of. He had long accepted that he had missed out on a life that wasn’t interrupted by a decades-long sleep. There was really no point in imagining what could have been when he was so happy with what he had now. Natasha though…she had relived some painful scenes from her past in the Red Room. They’d had a conversation about it not long after they’d gotten together – he had been concerned about a potential pregnancy and she had relieved him of the worry in the most heartbreaking way possible – but he didn’t want her to have to go through something like that again. He trusted Wanda not to do anything malicious, but she wasn’t always in complete control of her powers, as the occasional slam into the gym walls had shown. He wasn’t willing to risk anyone’s mind on a whim.

He realized how tightly he was wound when Tony slapped his shoulder before sitting down beside him. “Whoa, there, tiger. Why so tense? Did you not take advantage of tipsy Natalie last night?”

“Oh, he certainly did,” Natasha replied before Steve could. “Several times.”

“I hate that when I want to picture you _in flagrante delicto_ , I always end up with an uninvited Captain Assmerica making an appearance, too.” Tony sighed and took a sip of coffee. “I wouldn’t be so opposed to the sight if I didn’t know you personally. Kind of like how the dudes fade into the background when you’re watching porn. You know what porn is, right?”

Steve was saved from an awkward defense when Wanda appeared and sat at the table with no breakfast but plenty of nervousness. Tony, naturally, didn’t notice her unease. “Wait, are they doing table service now? Hey, can I get a Bloody Mary? Someone?”

To her credit, Wanda didn’t pay him any mind and accepted a cup of tea that Vision courteously brought her. The team, even Tony, quietly went back to their meals until she said, “I am responsible for our activities today. I know we have mostly spent the past few days experiencing what our teammates do during battle. It has been enlightening. But I have decided that I did not want to use my powers, given some past incidents.” She looked significantly at Steve and Natasha, though she pointedly ignored Tony. “Instead, I have chosen something more like what Vision did.”

“I’m not going back in that piss tank again!” Tony cried.

“I would like for you all to experience something like what my brother and I did before we were taken in by Baron Strucker.”

Even Tony had stopped moving now as they waited for further explanation. Steve had felt orphaned when his mother had died and he had technically been an adult at the time. Wanda and Pietro had lost both their parents at such a young age. What could she possibly be planning to make them feel…?

“I decided that, rather than spend my day in combat, we will spend it helping the less fortunate. Vision and Agent Hill assisted me in planning. We will be helping to cook for an organization that delivers meals to the elderly this morning, then visiting a shelter for families in the afternoon and serving dinner at a homeless shelter this evening.”

Steve nodded and smiled, the weight that rose from his shoulders even heavier than the one that had settled. “I like this idea. Maybe we should consider adding community service to our regular schedule of events.”

No one could reasonably argue with his pronouncement. Besides, he wasn’t about to force anyone to do things he wouldn’t do himself. He was even a little ashamed to think he hadn’t gotten involved with any volunteer work sooner. Natasha’s hand on his thigh confirmed that he’d said the right thing, but her words were as sweet as anything he’d heard her say when she asked, “Uniforms or civvies?”

“Regular clothes will be fine,” Wanda replied with a smile that could only mean she was also thanking Natasha for good advice as she stood after finishing her tea. “I have arranged for transportation, so…”

“We’ll meet you in the hangar,” Steve confirmed. He was prouder to put on his uniform than he had been in some time after breakfast, even if the rest of the team had opted for casual clothing. Natasha had given him a wink and an excuse about giving old men heart attacks when she wore her catsuit.

Steve grinned his way through pleasant meet and greets over the course of the late morning and afternoon as he knocked on doors with hot lunches. The elderly were surprisingly receptive to his overtures when he delivered their meals. Who knew the price of a loaf of bread in 1942 was so interesting to so many people? Natasha, playing his assistant in simple khakis and a shirt, had to pull him out of more than one house with the whispered reminder that they were due to visit underprivileged kids that afternoon.

He wanted to argue that he owed a debt to the elderly because they were the generation that had grown up with Captain America right up until the first small child had seen him in the front hallway of the shelter and wrapped her arms around his waist as she told him that he was her hero. He hadn’t had it in him to explain how she should have been idolizing Black Widow and Scarlet Witch, just hugged her back. The visit was better organized than Steve could have anticipated, with the Avengers not just visiting but distributing new clothes and toiletries. He wasn’t sure how many photos he’d posed for, just that he was willing to do it the rest of the day if it made things a little better for the homeless kids and their families. The rest of the team seemed equally touched by the experience. They practically had to drag Sam away from a little boy who wanted to be ‘just like Falcon’ when he grew up. Sam and the boy’s parents had tears in their eyes on parting.

They were riding to the homeless shelter outside New York City where they would be serving dinner when Tony released a dramatic sigh. “This is exhausting.”

“I think that’s the point, billionaire,” Natasha shot back. “Imagine if you had to commit all your energy just to making it through the day every single day.”

“I meant emotionally exhausting, Natalie. And I was going to say that I should have the Stark Foundation look into doing more for local charities.”

She grunted in response. Steve grasped her hand and whispered, “You okay?”

“Fine.”

“Nat…” he trailed off when she gave him an icy glare. He turned in his seat to Wanda. “We’re going to do this again. As often as we can.”

She smiled sadly at him and he wondered if he had said the right thing. She had, after all, intended for the team to experience what she and her brother had after being orphaned. Maybe this was turning out to be too much for her. He turned again to amend his statement, but she was smiling at something Vision had said. Steve turned back toward Natasha, deciding to give it another try. “Hey.”

“I told you I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you looked fine when that kid told you that you were her favorite because you didn’t have real superpowers.”

She sniffed haughtily. “Neither do Sam or Rhodey.”

“Someday you’re gonna have to stop pretending you’re not a hero.” He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers trace down her neck and over her collarbone. “If little kids recognize it…” Her lips twitched up ever so slightly. It was enough of a tell from her for him to lean in for a gentle kiss. “I’d say it’s only a matter of time before everyone loves you like I do, but…”

“I don’t think anyone else could ever love me like you do,” she whispered back. “And I don’t want them to.”

“Make out when there aren’t hungry folks waiting on us,” Sam interrupted them as the van pulled up in front of a nondescript building.

Steve was slightly unnerved when people began lining up to have him scoop mashed potatoes onto their divided trays. He remembered breadlines during the Depression being very similar, with grateful people accepting what amounted to such small portions. Pictures never did them justice, portraying them as sad, hopeless masses rather than individuals who had fallen on hard times, often through no fault of their own. He smiled as a man with a straggly beard and long coat said, “Bless you, Captain.”

Later, after they’d shaken hands before the doors closed and helped wipe down tables, the ride back to HQ was fairly quiet. Steve hadn’t realized learning about his fellow Avengers would be so taxing, but he was glad to have the opportunity. He made sure to pull Wanda aside before they went their separate ways for the night. “This was a really good experience and I want to thank you for…”

“There is no need to thank me.” Her eyes practically glittered with emotion.

“Wanda, you really helped us understand not just what you’ve been through, but what the Avengers mean to real people. We won’t forget it.”

“I know. I think I need some time to relax now, so…”

“Oh, right. Sorry. Just…thanks.” He smiled sincerely as she disappeared around the corner before making his way to his own quarters where Natasha had just gotten in the shower. He joined her in the small cubicle, helping her rinse the conditioner from her hair. He squirted a glop of pleasantly fruity body wash onto a poof and squeezed it to work up a lather before soaping them both.

She wrapped her arms around him, drawing his forehead down to rest against hers. “You’re gonna smell like raspberries.”

“So? Smells nice.”

She didn’t say anything further but let him wash the suds from both of them. Her skin was still just as warm when he held in her bed later.


End file.
